Gas installation...are these fair prices.

rogerblack

thegasmon wrote: »

its fine for you to do most of the work, you cant do any of the gas pipework, or fit the boiler and flue as this will break the law.

Citation needed.

It is against the law for anyone to fit for others for profit without being a member of one of the appropriate bodies.

It is not illegal for anyone to fit, properly, a gas boiler or flue, or ... themselves, in their own property. Doing so properly is however not something to be taken lightly.
They do not have to be a member of any organisation.

I note even http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/advice/gas_safety_in_the_home/doing_diy.aspx just says 'Don't DIY' - it doesn't say it's illegal.

jky

thegasmon wrote: »

heres a idea of material costs at a guess without knowing anything about the job.

wb 28i boiler = £750
flue kit = £60
controls = £130
rad valves = £15 x 4 = £60
rad valves= £8
radiators = 4 x £60
towl rad = £90
chemicals = £20
auto bypass valve = £15
magnetic filter = £90
copper pipe = 60mx15mm = £100
copper pipe = 30mx22mm = £120
copper pipe = 9mx28mm = £ £40
copper fittings = £ 65
sundries = £75

add these together and times by 1.2 to include vat.

as for the labour costs if you paid for it, well it depends on the area, business etc...

the average small Gas safe business (1-2 man) has a running cost of £30-£50 a day maybe even higher. This comes from many things but includes public liability insurance, gas related costs, vehicle costs, tool costs, office costs....... the list is endless tbh.

Why should i paying for their running costs, most of them work from home and most dont have any out goings. Their public liability insurance is to protect themselves. I know the list is endless ive been a decorator for 30 years but i only charge people for the job that im doing for them, seems fair to me

southcoastrgi

thegasmon wrote: »

heres a idea of material costs at a guess without knowing anything about the job.

wb 28i boiler = £750
flue kit = £60
controls = £130
rad valves = £15 x 4 = £60
rad valves= £8
radiators = 4 x £60
towl rad = £90
chemicals = £20
auto bypass valve = £15
magnetic filter = £90
copper pipe = 60mx15mm = £100
copper pipe = 30mx22mm = £120
copper pipe = 9mx28mm = £ £40
copper fittings = £ 65
sundries = £75

add these together and times by 1.2 to include vat.

as for the labour costs if you paid for it, well it depends on the area, business etc...

the average small Gas safe business (1-2 man) has a running cost of £30-£50 a day maybe even higher. This comes from many things but includes public liability insurance, gas related costs, vehicle costs, tool costs, office costs....... the list is endless tbh.

I think you better check some of your prices, when was the last time you bought copper, & i think the rest of them are too low as well

rogerblack wrote: »

Citation needed.

It is against the law for anyone to fit for others for profit without being a member of one of the appropriate bodies.

It is not illegal for anyone to fit, properly, a gas boiler or flue, or ... themselves, in their own property. Doing so properly is however not something to be taken lightly.
They do not have to be a member of any organisation.

I note even http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/advice/gas_safety_in_the_home/doing_diy.aspx just says 'Don't DIY' - it doesn't say it's illegal.

true but you have to be compentant & you can't prove that without being accessed, so no you shouldn't diy gas, plus the warrentee for the boiler is null & void because you can't fill out the benchmark book.

jky wrote: »

Why should i paying for their running costs, most of them work from home and most dont have any out goings. Their public liability insurance is to protect themselves. I know the list is endless ive been a decorator for 30 years but i only charge people for the job that im doing for them, seems fair to me

because it's how you run a business, if you are s/e you should know that your business costs come out of the profit you make on a job or you are using your labour rate to pay for your business to run & that's not how it works, you can buy lots of things cheaper on the net but most trades don't so the price they pay from the merchant is going to be higher, plus they need to make a profit to be able to run their business

don't tell me if a tin of paint costs you £20 then you charge your customer £20 ? you need to make a profit on that tin of paint to cover your expenses in fuel & time going to get it, plus you need to cover your time going to see the job in the first place & then sitting at home working out the quote & typing it up, or do you just spend all that time & effort because you love doing work for nothing.

jky

Waste of time coming on here to ask a reasonable question, nobodys really answered what i wanted to know, all youve done is argued amongst yourselves. Forget it.:(

Ken68

Done a lot on this board jyk, plumbers and electrcians bigging up the price and sloppy quotations. You should not need pay more than £20 an hour plus parts, though if you get the parts less profit for the trader so expect a higher labour cost.
Try http://www.diynot.com/

ollski

Why don't you get a few companies in to quote then you will find out the value of the job.;)

jky

Ken68 wrote: »

Done a lot on this board jyk, plumbers and electrcians bigging up the price and sloppy quotations. You should not need pay more than £20 an hour plus parts, though if you get the parts less profit for the trader so expect a higher labour cost.
Try http://www.diynot.com/

I dont mind paying up for the job im having done but to me the figures dont tally. If they itemise the quote so i know what im paying for then thats fine.

Ive looked at sites that say what i should be paying for the job for my maisonette but my lowest quote is about £1400 over it.

I work my butt off for the measly money i get doing decorating and i only charge people for what i do for them....maybe im too honest but thats me.

Money is very tight, as it is for a lot of people and thats why ive lived with just one storage heater for the last few years but because my place is now damp, i need to do something.

MillicentBystander

Do as I did when I put a new boiler in my late father's house - put your post code into the search box on the Gas Safe site and be shocked at how many S/E plumbers there are within, say, a 5 mile radius. This should tell you that many of these will be sniffing around for work (probably why when they do get a chance at quoting they go for it hoping to make enough wonga to keep them happy for a few weeks!).

Invite 5 to come and give you a quote, TELL THEM they are one of 5 quoting and ask for their best quote with no leeway for haggling. Worked for me - the S/E plumber I used lived 300 yards away and was so struggling for work he was travelling the length and breadth of the country subbing for one of the Big 6. He did the work at the weekend (took him one day with one helper and that included re-siting the boiler from downstairs to upstairs and fitting TRVs on the existing rads).

jky

MillicentBystander wrote: »

Do as I did when I put a new boiler in my late father's house - put your post code into the search box on the Gas Safe site and be shocked at how many S/E plumbers there are within, say, a 5 mile radius. This should tell you that many of these will be sniffing around for work (probably why when they do get a chance at quoting they go for it hoping to make enough wonga to keep them happy for a few weeks!).

Invite 5 to come and give you a quote, TELL THEM they are one of 5 quoting and ask for their best quote with no leeway for haggling. Worked for me - the S/E plumber I used lived 300 yards away and was so struggling for work he was travelling the length and breadth of the country subbing for one of the Big 6. He did the work at the weekend (took him one day with one helper and that included re-siting the boiler from downstairs to upstairs and fitting TRVs on the existing rads).

Ill try that...thanks, i just get a bit worried about not seeing any of their work. All the plumbers ive had quotes from ive met them on jobs.

Pincher

I insisted on seeing the CORGI (before Gas Safe) card, which the registered person produced reluctantly. And then I find the power flush is done by a Romanian assistant, and the pipework was done by an Italian apprentice, neither of whom spoke much English. The CORGI guy just turns up to tell them to do stuff one or twice a day. The apprentice had no spatial awareness, and the pipe work was going to force the floor standing boiler proud of the worktop, if I wasn't there to make sure. He was INSISTING the flue had to stick out so far that it blocked half the side passage. There is supposed to be a cage around the flue, as people would be bumping into it, and the CORGI man only did it because I insisted.
I asked for decent TRVs, and he used some brand I have never seen before, but fortunately no leaks so far.

What's the lesson? There are no cheap, well trained, seasoned plumbers. It's like asking for a car that's lovingly cared for, one lady owner: she is actually a hoodlum with a pit bull.

There is no substitute to keeping an eye on everything.
Every time I'm not there, my builders do something that has to be put right. Make sure you are there for the water tightness test, before they put the floorboards back.